The church that makes the Lord’s joy complete
[Philippians 2:1-4]
Pastor Rick Wren, pastor of Saddleback Church, made this claim: ‘The most important issue of the 21st century church is church health, not church growth. The issue is not about whether the church members are small or big but it is church health.’ He suggests five ways to measure church growth: (1) The church needs to grow warmer through fellowship, (2) The church needs to be deepened through discipleship, (3) The church should become stronger through worship, (4) The church should be broadened through ministry, and (5) The church needs to grow through evangelism. And he said, ‘Percentage of church members mobilized for ministry and missions, rather than the number of church attendants, is a more accurate measure of the health of the church.’ When I heard about this, I thought about whether our church is a healthy church or not. But I would like to use the term ‘The Biblical church’ rather than ‘The healthy church’. In other words, I am thinking about whether our church is the biblical church or not. What kind of church is the Biblical church?
The Scripture Acts 2:42-43 tells us in four ways what the Biblical church is: (1) First, the Biblical church is devoted to the teaching of the Word of God. When Apostle Peter preached the Word of God, 3,000 people received Jesus. As the young believers, they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42). The Biblical church members are learning the Word of God earnestly and faithfully. (2) Second, the Biblical church is devoted to the fellowship. Fellowship is sharing and giving to others what they have. The Biblical church members are helping each other as they share and give. (3) Third, the Biblical church is devoted to the communion. Through the communion, the saints of the church receive the grace of the Lord as they humbly receive by faith the bread and wine that symbolize Jesus' flesh and blood. (4) Fourth, the Biblical church is devoted to the prayer. The first century Jerusalem church was committed to various prayers. They imitated the prayer of the group numbering about 120 believers (1:4) even when they expanded to 3,000 believers. The numerical growth of the Jerusalem church meant an increase number of the prayers. The Biblical church members are devoted to prayer.
As we look at Philippians 2:4, Paul wrote a letter to the saints of the Philippian church, saying, “Make my joy complete.” And he taught them four ways in which they could fill his joy. I am going to apply these four lessons to our church. So, under the title of “The church that makes the Lord’s joy complete,” I want to think about these four lessons and hopefully we can make the Lord’s joy complete by obeying those four Biblical principles.
First, there is encouragement in Christ in the church that makes the Lord’s joy complete.
Look at Philippians 2:1 – “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, ….” Here, what does “encouragement” mean? In the original Greek language, “encouragement” means "exhortation", "encouragement" and "comfort." So in Philippian 2:1, the word “encouragement” means earnestly exhort or admonish or encourage for the purpose of firmly establishing the Philippian church saints’ faith (Zodhiates). Apostle Paul used this word many times in his letters besides today's text, one of which is 2 Corinthians 8:4 – “they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.” Then in Philippians 2:1, what was Paul urgently pleading the Philippian church saints? What was he urgently encouraged them to do? It was “being of the same mind” (v. 2). Look at Philippian 2:2 – “make my joy complete by being of the same mind ….” Here, “being of the same mind” refers to “one mind”(1:27). In other words, Paul’s encouragement in Christ to the Philippian church saints was for them have the one and same mind. The reason was because that was conducting themselves in the manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (v. 27). Unfortunately, the Philippian church saints weren’t conducting themselves in the manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. How can we know this? We can know this by looking at Philippians 4:2 – “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.” In the Philippian church these two women were not in the same mind. That was why Paul wrote to the saints of the Philippian church to have one mind (1:27) and the same mind (2:2). And in Philippians 4:2, Paul specifically mentioned these two women’s name Euodia and Syntyche and told them to agree with each other in the Lord. I think these two women served the Lord and His church out of selfish ambition or vain conceit (2:3). Because of their selfish ambition or vain conceit, Euodia and Syntyche couldn’t agree with each other in the Lord.
What is “vain conceit”? The Naver dictionary defines this: ‘Vain conceit is going far enough where there is hollow and just mere outward glory or outward show that is more than necessary.’ If there is anyone in the church who has vain conceit, then it is inevitable that contention will arise. A good example of this is in Numbers 16. Korah and On rose up before Moses, together with 250 leaders of the Israel congregation and were against Moses and Aaron (vv. 1-3). What they said to Moses and Aaron was “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD's assembly?” (v. 3). “When Moses heard this, he fell facedown” (v. 4). And he said to Korah and all the multitude, "You Levites have gone too far!” (v.7) Then Moses said to the Korah and the Levites: “Isn't it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the LORD's tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them?” (v. 9) What did Moses mean? The Korah and the Levites considered God’s grace small. Although God had separated them from the rest of the Israelite community and brought them near Himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them, they regarded it small. Though they were not to regard it small but they did and they tried to get the priesthood too (v. 10). Because the Korah and the Levites regarded their duty small, they had gone too far in asking for the priesthood to Moses and Aaron. After all, they weren’t only against Moses and Aaron, but also God (v. 11). The result was the death of Korah and all those who were against Moses and Aaron (vv.33, 35). We must be careful to think too highly of ourselves. And we must be careful not to go too far in words and actions. We must think, speak, and act appropriately before God. We must not do anything out of selfish ambition or vain conceit (Phil. 2:3). We must never take lightly the ministry that God has given us by grace. Instead, we should serve joyfully, humbly and voluntarily with gratitude for the ministry that God has given us because He loves us and set us apart to serve.
What was Paul's sincere encouragement to the saints of the Philippian church who weren’t conducting in the manner worthy of the gospel of Christ? In other words, what kind of mind that Paul was thinking when he encouraged them to have the same mind, one mind and be like-minded? Look at Philippians 2:3 – “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” The mind that Paul was thinking when he thought about the Philippian church saints was humble mind. And humble mind is considering other better than ourselves (v. 3). How is this possible? How can we consider others better than ourselves? For example, when we look at another person and actually our faith is stronger than him and our Christian life is much better than him, how can we consider him better than ourselves? I looked for the answer in Romans 5:20 – “… But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” As we realize how great our sins are before our holy God, we are bound to realize how great the grace of God is toward us. In doing so, we cannot help but confess humbly, like Apostle Paul: “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Cor. 15:9). Actually, Paul was not in the least inferior to those “super-apostles” (2 Cor. 11:5; 12:11). Nevertheless, he confessed, “I am the least of the apostles” (1 Cor. 15:9). Then Paul confessed in Ephesians 3:8, “Although I am less than the least of all God's people ….” Then, toward the end of his life, Paul confessed: ‘I am the worst sinner’ (1 Tim. 1:15). The more humble we are in front of God than in front of people, the better we can consider others better than ourselves. In doing so, we can "serve one another in love" (Gal. 5:13). Also, we can be devoted to one another in brotherly love and honor one another above ourselves (Rom. 12:10).
When we all hear Paul's gentle exhortation and have humble heart, our churches can have the same mind and glorify God with one mind and one in spirit. The humble heart that we must bear is "the heart of Christ Jesus". Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:5 – “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” When all the members of our church have the Jesus' humble heart, we will be able make the Lord’s joy complete.
“O Mas-ter, let me walk with Thee In low-ly paths of serv-ice free;
Tell me Thy se-cret, help me bear The strain of toil, the fret of care.
(Hymns “O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee”, verse 1).
Second, there is comfort from His love in the church that makes the Lord’s joy complete.
What do you do when you desperately need comfort in your trouble? Maybe we try to rely on our close family members or friends. So we share and pour out what is in our hearts to them. However, no matter how much we try to get close to them and get comfort from them, we feel that we are strangers and aliens to our own family members and close friends (Ps, 69:8). Instead of getting comfort from them, we may be discouraged by them.
When we look at Numbers 32:7, we see those who discouraged the Israelites. They are the Gadites and Reubenites. How did they discourage the rest of the tribes of Israel? They did so by asking Moses not to make them cross the Jordan (v. 5) but to give them the lands of Jazer and Gilead (v. 1) that were suitable for their livestock (v. 4). When Moses heard their words, he said to the Gadites and Reubenites, “Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here? Why do you discourage the Israelites from going over into the land the LORD has given them?” (vv. 6-7) So the Gadites and Reubenites discouraged the rest of the ten tribes. But Moses said that not only them but their ancestors also discouraged the Israelites (vv.9, 14). Their ancestors’ hearts were made melt (Deut. 1:28) because of the bad report by the ten spies about the land of Canaan they had explored (Num. 13:32; 14:35, 36) and thus they cried and wept aloud (Num. 14:1). After all, the Gadites and Reubenites’ ancestors were discouraged because they believed in the bad report by the ten spies and not believed in the good report by Joshua and Caleb. In fact, those ten spies didn’t trust God and thus made the bad report that discouraged the Gadites and Reubenites’ ancestors. Likewise, the Gadites nd Reubenites discouraged the rest of the Israelites because they had forgotten the responsibility of the whole community of Israel and only sought for their selfish desires. In conclusion, like their ancestors, the Gadites and Reubenites discouraged the Israelites because they didn’t follow God wholeheartedly (cf. v. 24).
If we don’t follow God wholeheartedly, then we can make everyone in our communities discouraged. If we don’t believe in God completely and distrust Him, we can make our brothers and sisters in Christ discouraged. Also, when we don’t faithfully bear our community responsibility as well as personal responsibility, then we can discourage other members of the church community. We need to be the comforters, not the discouragers. Just as the Holy Spirit is comforting us, we must comfort our neighbors as we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Look at Philippians 2:1 – “… if any comfort from his love ….” Here, Paul is talking about Christ’s love. What Paul was saying to the Philippian church saints was for them to comfort each other with Christ’s love. Why did Paul encourage them to do so? We can find the reason in Philippians 1:30 – “since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.” It was because the Philippian church saints, like Paul, were struggling for the gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, they were suffering (v. 29). Because they were suffering like Paul because of those who opposed them, Paul told the Philippian church saints to comfort each other with Christ’s love. And then he told them to have the same love (2:2). What does it mean? It means that when the Philippian church saints were suffering, all the saints should love each other and comfort each other with the same love of Christ. How then does Paul tell the Saints of the Philippian Church to love one another and comfort one another with the same love of Christ? Look at Philippians 2:4 – “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” The way to comfort each other with the love of Christ is to look to the interests of others. In other words, Paul told the saints of the Philippian church to love and comfort each other by looking at other’s interests. The exhortation to look at other’s interests rather than our own interests means that our neighbor's love shouldn’t selfish love for self-interest but selfless love. In particular, I think what Paul wanted the Philippian church saints to have was the same mind in the Lord as they seek the interests of other brothers and sisters in Christ with the altruistic love of Christ, rather than seeking their own interests. The reason I think this way is that in Philippians 4:2, Paul mentioned two names, Euodia and Syntyche and exhorted them to "agree with each other in the Lord".
What will happen to the church if we all pursue our own interests and care for our own work in the church? What will happen to the church if we all think of ourselves, speak and act in our own ways, and serve the church in our own ways? Such church can never be the church that pleases the Lord. Beside this, we cannot feel the love of Christ in the church if we pursue only our own self-interest. What does the Bible say love is? The Bible 1 Corinthians 13:5 says love is not self-seeking. When Paul said to the Philippian church saints to have the same love and love and comfort each other means not to seek their own interests but to seek the others’ interests (Phil. 2:2, 4). Then how can we seek the others’ interests? In his book, "A Spirituality of Caregiving," Henry Nouwen said: The word 'kara', the etymology of 'care', means 'to grieve, to mourn, to suffer, to share the pain' ... Care is crying with people who are ill and confused, lonely, isolated, and forgotten. That is, it is to realize that their pain is in my heart. Caring is entering into the world of broken and helpless people and sharing the fellowship with weak people there. And caring is staying beside those who are suffering even the situation doesn’t improve’ (Nouwen). How much will we be comforted if we care for each other? This is what Rev. John McArthur said regarding the word “comfort” in the phrase “if any comfort from his love” in Philippians 2:1: “The Greek word translated “comfort” portrays the Lord coming close and whispering words of gentle cheer or tender counsel in a believer’s ear” (MacArthur). When we try to comfort our brothers and sisters in Christ with the love of Christ just like Jesus did, I think we should also go near to them and whisper words of gentle cheer or tender counsel to their ears.
Several years ago I meditated on Acts 15: 35-41, under the heading "The ministry of comfort." I meditated on three things as to how we should do the ministry of comfort: (1) First, we must have a true meeting in the Lord to fulfill our ministry of comfort. It means to have meeting in the Lord to check each other's spiritual condition in the Lord. (2) Second, we must not argue with one another in order to fulfill our ministry of comfort. That is, we must reconcile each other. Paul and Barnabas had sharp disagreement about whether to take Mark with them or not on the Paul’s first missionary return visit and they parted company (Acts 15:36-40). The lesson we learned here was that we should learn to control our zeal for the Lord. Our enthusiasm should not be derailed to such an extent that it cannot be governed (Calvin). (3) Third, we need to strengthen the church in order for us to take up our ministry of comfort. How can we strengthen the church? As we listen to God's Word and as our faith grows, the church can stand firm. This is true ministry of comfort. When we are faithful in this ministry of comfort, we will be able to make the Lord’s joy complete.
Third, there is the fellowship of the Holy Spirit in the church that makes the Lord’s joy complete.
One day I had a conversation with the leaders of our church English ministry. And I asked them why many your people who go to college leave the church. One of the brothers in Christ then said that it seemed to be a habit when he started not coming to the church once or twice. Yet another brother in Christ said that it might be because there is no 'socializing' in the church. And then he used the word “fellowship.” It seemed to me he was using those two words (socializing and fellowship) interchangeably or a similar way. What do you think? My personal opinion is that one of the Christian terms that is being abused in the church is "fellowship." How this word “fellowship” is being abused is that many believers misunderstand "fellowship" as some "activity." But fellowship is not an activity but a "relationship" (Jerry Bridges). As we first build relationship with God through intimate fellowship with Him (vertical fellowship), we must also build relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ through our fellowship with them (horizontal fellowship).
When we look at Acts 2:42, the Bible says that the early church believers devoted themselves in “fellowship.” Here, the word "fellowship", “koinonia” in Greek, has two meanings. The first meaning is to share. The second meaning is to give what you have to others. The fellowship we are dealing with is not simply a fun conversation with people and eating food together. It doesn’t mean that we are playing games in a Christian atmosphere or just talking about what happened last week. That's what we did before we were born again. There was something new sharing. That is, ‘to have time to share what we have learned in the God's Word and to pray together’, ‘to intercede in prayers for other saints who are going through their own difficulties,’ and ‘to share our own possessions with others.’ Then what is the "fellowship" in Acts 2:42? There is a definite article in front of the word “fellowship” in the original Greek language – “the fellowship.” What does "the fellowship" refer to? It refers to the "the fellowship of the Holy Spirit." When there was the work of the Holy Spirit in full on the day of Pentecost, not only that about 3,000 people repented and were baptized, but also they shared the Holy Spirit who dwelt in them. They devoted to the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. In the community of the Holy Spirit, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is natural. Therefore, the early church of Jerusalem was not just a humanistic community where people came together in unity, but it was the community of fellowship with the Holy Spirit as the center and core (Yoo Sang-sup).
Look at Philippians 2:1 – “... if any fellowship with the Spirit ... ." Apostle Paul writes a letter to the saints of the Philippian church and urged them to have fellowship with the Holy Spirit. The purpose of this exhortation is the unity of the church. Although there are different kinds of gifts in the church, different kinds of service and different kinds of working (1 Cor. 12:4-6), "All these are the work of one and the same Spirit” (v. 11). In the Lord’s church, “God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be” (v. 18). “God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other” (vv. 24-25). Therefore, we must make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3). How then can we do so? In today's text Philippians 2:2, Paul said to the saints of the Philippian church to "united in spirit." What does it mean? It means "one-souled" and describes people who are knit together in harmony, having the same desires, passions and ambitions (MacArthur). In Philippians 1:27, which we have already meditated, Apostle Paul told the saints of the Philippian church to conduct themselves in the manner worth of the gospel of Christ by standing firm in one spirit and contending one man for the faith of the gospel. Here, “one spirit” means "will and desire" (Calvin). Paul was encouraging the saints of the Philippian church to do the Lord's work with the same will and desire in fulfilling His will with the one mind and the humble attitude.
How can we work together for the Lord and His church as we are “being one in spirit and purpose” (2:2)? If we each do everything according to our own thoughts and wills, we cannot serve the body of the Lord in one mind and one spirit. We will each do our own work according to our own minds and thoughts. But if we all lay down our will and pursue the Lord's will together, we will be able to cooperate with the Lord's work in one heart and one will. Therefore, all of us must lay down our will and pursue the Lord's will together. In order to do so, we must pray to God according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit: “Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Mt. 26:39). Not only we must pray like this, we also need to having spiritual marking out a pillar around its bottom with a gauge for chiseling. The first thing the constructors usually do when they build a tradition Korean house is to place a main prop. Here, the main prop refers to a stone under the pillar. When they put the main prop, then they put the pillar on the main prop. However, there is one process that must go through when setting up the pillar on the main prop. It is difficult to put the pillar on the main prop, even if they choose the stone that is wide and flat. If they want to put the pillar on the main prop, they have to do a line work so that the surface of the foundation stone and the surface of the pillar fit well. The method of marking out the pillar around its bottom with the gauge for chiseling is simple. It is to cut and polish the face of the pillar and then put it on the foundation stone. It isn’t to grind the foundation stone, but to always trim the surface of the pillar that is built on it and then match it with the foundation stone. The standard is not the pillars, but the foundation stones. And the better they do this, the safer and stronger the house will be (Internet). Here, I thought about spiritual marking out the pillar around its bottom with the gauge for chiseling. It is to conform our lives to the words of the Lord who is the Rock (Mt. 7:24). In other words, it is to do the will of our Heavenly Father instead of just crying out "Lord, Lord" (v. 21). The important thing here is that the standard of our lives is the Lord and the Lord's will, just as the standard of the tradition Korean house is not the pillar but the foundation stone. That means that as the pillar matches the foundation stone and not other way around, we must conform our will to the Lord’s will instead of Lord’s will to our will. As the disciples of Jesus Christ, we must live according to the will of the Lord upon the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In doing so, we will be able to make the Lord’s joy complete.
Fourth and last, there is affection and compassion in the church that makes the Lord’s joy complete.
This year's theme for our church is "With the affection of Christ Jesus.” And the passage in the Scripture is Philippians 1:8 – “For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.” This year's goal is to love your neighbor with the affection of Christ Jesus. In order to do so, we all need to long for our neighbors with the affection of Christ Jesus (v. 8), have mercy on them (Jer. 31:20) and jealously desires them (Jam. 4:5). Not only that, we must pray for them as we always thinking of them with the affection of Christ Jesus (Phil. 1:9-11). All of us should participate in the gospel with the affection of Jesus Christ (v. 5). Looking back over the past several months, how much do we think we have reached this goal? Did we really have mercy on our neighbors while jealously desire them? Did we always remember and pray to God for them? Did we participate in the gospel with the affection of Christ Jesus? Have we at least looked after our neighbors and prayed with compassion and helped them?
Look at Philippians 2:1 – “… if any affection and compassion.” Here the word "affection" is the same Greek word as "affection" in Philippians 1:8. As Paul wrote to the saints of the Philippian church in the jail that he longed for them with the affection of Christ Jesus (1: 8) he exhorted them to long for each other with affection (2:1). Look at 1 John 3:17-18: “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” If we love and long for our neighbors with the affection of Jesus Christ, I am sure we will not only shut our hearts to help them but also will not be able to do so. Rather, we will help the needy neighbors with actions and in truth. The way this affection can deepen in the relationship of the brothers and sisters in Christ is to accept and obey each other with the love of Christ. A good example of this is found in 2 Corinthians 7:15 – “His affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling.” When Titus visited the Corinthian church, the Corinthian church saints received and obeyed him with fear and trembling. As a result, Titus’ affection abounded all the more toward them. Also, Titus’ spirit had been refreshed by them (v. 13). In other words, Titus has gained strength and courage because of the love and comfort of the Corinthian church saints. Looking at Titus, Paul was not only comforted, but he rejoiced even much more for the joy of Titus (v. 13). Then what does "compassion" mean, which Paul spoke in Philippians 2:1? In Latin, "compassion" is derived from the words “pati” and “cum” and it means to suffer together. This is what Henry Nouwen said in his "Compassion": ‘Compassion tells us to go to a place where there is hurts and suffering and share the broken pains, fears, chaos, and anguish’ (Nouwen). Jesus said “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Lk. 6:36). The mercy of our Father in Heaven is to love the enemy, and to show mercy to those who do not know the grace and to the wicked. Jesus has given us mercy by redeeming our sins. Since we have experienced His mercy, we should be merciful to our neighbors and give to the needy (Mt. 6:2-4; cf. Jam. 1:27) and forgive those who did evil to us (Mt. 18:35). In doing so, Jesus said to us “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (5:7). And the Lord will have mercy on us, forgive us and deliver us.
Apostle Paul's reason in Philippians 2:1 in telling the saints in Philippian church to have "affection and compassion" was because he wanted them to live with one purpose with affection and compassion. Look at Philippians 2:2 – “make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.” This word “intent on one purpose” in one word in Greek and it appears again in Philippians 2:5 – “Have this attitude in yourselves ….” Here, the word “Have this attitude” means to have an attitude or frame of mind think in such a way, purpose, be inclined (Friberg). In other words, Paul exhorted the Philippian church saints to aim for the purpose of having the mind of Christ Jesus and to move toward that purpose. And the mind of Jesus is not only the humble mind but also is affectionate and compassionate. So Paul earnestly encouraged the Philippian church saints to long for, love and comfort each other with this mind and to have true fellowship in the Lord.
Shouldn’t we listen to this Paul's exhortation as well? Shouldn’t we all have this affection and compassion of Jesus Christ as well? We too should long for, love and comfort each other with this affection and compassion of Jesus Christ and enjoy true fellowship in the Lord. In doing so, our church will be able to make out Lord’s joy complete.
We must make our Lord’s joy complete. In order to do so, we must exhort one another in Christ. And the exhortation is to have the same mind. And to do that, we must do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Also, we must love each other and comfort each other with the love of Christ. We should look not only to our own interests but also to the interests of others. We must love others with selfless love of Christ for their own benefits. And we must seek the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. We must be united in spirit with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We must lay down our own will and seek and share the will of the Lord. We must move forward with intention on one purpose in affection and compassion. We must do so with the purpose of glorifying God only. I hope and pray that our church will be able to make our Lord’s joy complete as we intent on glorifying God with one mind and one spirit according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.